Coke Launching New Flavor To Satisfy Your Taste Buds

It’s been a while since Coca-Cola released a new flavor, and many thought the company was satisfied with its current options. For 2019, however, Coke is planning to shake things up. The company will be releasing an orange-vanilla flavor, CNN is reporting. According to Kate Carpenter, brand director for Coca-Cola Trademark, they’re offering a new and different selection to provide more variety. The goal is to have people sticking to Coke rather than shop for a different brand of soda.

The company thought this new flavor could be successful due to the success of their previous flavored products such as Cherry Coke, Cherry Coke Zero, Vanilla Coke, and Vanilla Coke Zero. They also managed to find success with Zero Sugar Coke, so this new orange-vanilla flavor will come with a Zero Sugar option. They’ll also change up the packaging for this new product as well as for Cherry and Vanilla, giving the appearance a “bit of a facelift” according to Carpenter.

The company knew they wanted to introduce a new flavor riding off of the success of their other flavors, but needed to brainstorm to come up with something original. Carpenter’s team examined the different Coke flavors around the globe for ideas. Some flavors that have done well in countries like China are raspberry, lemon, and ginger. It was a rare flavor, however, that caught their eye. Orange Vanilla Coke was offered for a brief period of time in Canada last year. The team decided to test the creamsicle-like flavor with a U.S. market, which garnered positive results.

Those that tested the drink described it as “unique and different in the flavored cola category,” as well as “unexpected” yet “familiar.” Participants also said they would buy the drink in addition to a regular Coke, rather than instead of a regular Coke — boding well for potential sales. This is the first new flavor from Coke since 2007, which is when the company re-released Vanilla Coke. It’s original release was in 2002, only to fizzle out sales-wise. With a re-branding, Coke was able to relaunch it.

Some Coke releases in the past have been duds, however. In 1985, Coke attempted to change their original recipe — and people responded poorly. The company has also tried to market Black Cherry Vanilla Coke and a coffee-flavor called Coca-Cola Blak, among others. According to their stats, the company has found that the products that sell best are the ones that compliment or enhance the original recipe rather than completely change it.